This invention relates to rotating aerial toys adapted to be sailed in the air in an aerodynamic manner and, more particularly, to rotating ring or disc shaped devices that are scaled into the air for amusement and games that have become popular in recent years as toys, games and objects to be thrown or tossed and caught between individuals for sport and which are launched by hand by imparting a spinning motion to the toy as it is launched and it is sustained in flight by aerodynamic and gyroscopic forces that are brought into play when it is launched.
Aerodynamic circular discs are popularized by the "Frisbee" and aerodynamic rings that are used in sport and games. Such flying toys include a circular center body and a continuous extending rim or skirt around the outer periphery of the body, all formed of a suitable, thin-walled synthetic resin, like a polyethylene. Thus, the rim has a free lower portion and an upper portion that continuously adjoins the center body of the toy. This configuration gives the outer periphery a continuous top or outer surface that resembles an airfoil. It also enables launching the toy with a backhand throwing motion with the fingers gripping around the free lower portion of the rim and the thumb against the upper portion and releasing it into spinning flight with a turn of the wrist so that foreward momentum and spin are imparted to it causing it to fly or glide toward a target. The flight path from the thrower depends on the throwers skill, the release point, the angle of the plane of the toy body to the ground and wind forces during flight.
An example of this type of toy in which the body is disc-shaped is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,678 to Headrick. An example in which the body is ring-shaped is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,122 to English. These constructions provide for an inherently rigid toy, due to the continuous extending rim or skirt even though the toy is made of thin-walled synthetic resin so that it is light. Lightness is desired for ease of launching and reduced impact force when it hits a stationery object while in flight. However, these toys are quite rigid and when they hit a stationery object, the impact force on the object can be excessive. If the toy were less rigid so that it would flex, bend and/or fold on impact, the impact force would be less, all other factors being the same.
The aerodynamic drag on an aerial toy of the type described herein is determined primarily by the height of the rim at the outer periphery. This drag tends to be minimal when the outer rim is absent, as in the example described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,822 to Rogers. However, the smaller the rim height, the smaller will be the contact area of the outer perimeter that contacts an object when the toy is in flight; and the smaller the contact area, the greater will be the contact pressure for the same impact force. Accordingly, the rim height should be chosen so that a compromise is obtained between minimal drag and minimal impact pressure. If the toy flexes, bends or folds easily on impact, the impact force is reduced and impact pressure is reduced. Hence, the best compromise is acheived for smaller rim height and, therefore, lower drag as compared with conventional aerial toys of this sort that have a continuous rim that does not flex, bend or fold.